Stuart Skelton to perform at a gala concert to mark The Prince of Wales’ 70th birthday

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

As part of The Prince of Wales’ 70th birthday celebrations, heldentenor Stuart Skelton will perform at a gala concert on Thursday 25 October at Buckingham Palace. The evening will mark His Royal Highness’s longstanding support and patronage of the arts and is being led by Sir Antonio Pappano, Music Director The Royal Opera, Gregory Doran, Artistic Director The Royal Shakespeare Company, Kevin O’Hare CBE, Director The Royal Ballet and produced by David Whelton OBE.

His Royal Highness is President or Patron of more than 70 arts organisations, including: the Royal College of Music; The Royal Opera; the Royal Shakespeare Company; the Royal Television Society; the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus; Welsh National Opera; the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and The Royal Academy Trust. The evening’s programme will bring together a number of The Prince’s patronages and will include performances of pieces by celebrated artists including Sir Kenneth Branagh, Dame Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Stuart Skelton, Sir Bryn Terfel, Simon Russell Beale and many others.

Skelton recently made a welcome return to the stage in London with his debut for The Royal Opera performing the role of Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre, which will be broadcast live in cinemas on 28 October as part of the Royal Opera House’s Live Cinema Season. A revival of Keith Warner’s production, it was created for The Royal Opera in 2005 and is conducted by Antonio Pappano. The cast also includes Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde), Emily Magee (Sieglinde), Sarah Connolly (Fricka) and John Lundgren (Wotan).

Stuart Skelton commented, ‘It is such an honour to perform at the Prince of Wales’ 70th birthday concert with Sir Antonio Pappano and my colleagues from The Royal Opera. I am hugely looking forward to it and to wishing him a very happy birthday in this celebratory event at Buckingham Palace.’

Stuart Skelton is one of the finest heldentenors on the stage today, critically acclaimed for his outstanding musicianship, tonal beauty and intensely dramatic portrayals. Skelton is continuously in demand on stages around the world to perform some of opera’s most challenging roles including, Wagner’s Parsifal, Tristan, Lonhengrin, Rienzi and Siegmund; Beethoven’s Florestan; Saint-Saën’s Samson et Dalila; and Britten’s Peter Grimes.

Skelton’s 2018-19 season features numerous performances of Siegmund in Wagner’s Die Walküre including his long-awaited debut for The Royal Opera, London, a return to The Metropolitan Opera, New York and a concert performance with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and its Principal Conductor Vladimir Jurowski at the Royal Festival Hall on 27 January 2019; Verdi’s Otello also at The Met and in Baden Baden; he returned to his homeland, Australia, and performed and recorded the title role in Tristan und Isolde with the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra and recently released his first solo album, Shining Knight, on ABC Classics. Skelton also performs Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo at the Barbican Hall on 22 February.